Wanjin Lady

Chapter 376 Military News
Cheng Yuehua pondered and spoke slowly, "My mother is sick today, so I came back to see her. I never expected to hear her say that you rejected the Sun family's marriage proposal. You are old, and the girls of the Sun family are both beautiful and talented. Why do you still not like them?"

Cheng Yunzhang smiled knowingly, "Mother asked my third sister to persuade me to get married?"

Cheng Yuehua knew that her younger brother was smart, so she couldn't hide it from him. "Mother is very worried about your marriage. Brother, you are twenty years old. In the past, studying delayed your marriage. I won't try to persuade you to start a family and build a career. But now that my eldest brother is dead, you are the only male left in the Cheng family. We don't have many children, so you have to give mother and me something to look forward to."

When Cheng Yunzhang mentioned his deceased elder brother, his shoulders suddenly tensed.

The eldest brother was beaten to death on the charge of "leaving the team without permission" because he went into the mountains to find medicine for him.

"I also know that you and mother have become estranged because of me." Cheng Yuehua's eyes were red. "But fourth brother, you and mother grew up together. You and mother are the closest people to me in this world. Back then, you were imprisoned with your life or death uncertain. The fraud case shocked the world, and people were dragged off to be beheaded every day. In order to save you, let alone becoming a concubine in the Yan Mansion, I would have taken my own life."

"I do all this willingly. But how can I live with myself if this puts you at odds with Mother?"

Cheng Yunzhang lowered his eyes and said helplessly, "Sister..."

But in the end, he ruined my sister's life!

When his mother came to visit him in prison, he had discussed the pros and cons with her and told her clearly that she should go back and wait for him, as he would not be implicated in the fraud case. However, his mother was desperate and tried every possible means. When he walked out of the prison the next day, she had already put his third sister in a sedan chair and carried her to the Yan residence.

The third sister made the most meaningless sacrifice.

But his mother kept saying that if it weren't for his third sister, he wouldn't have been released from prison so easily.

The mother and son had a big fight over this matter. They lived under the same roof for nearly half a year but were like enemies.

"Brother, you shouldn't blame your mother."

"You're the only one mother can count on in her life. If she doesn't do good for you, who will?" Cheng Yuehua smiled bitterly, as if recalling her childhood. "It wasn't easy for mother. She lost her husband at an early age and her son in middle age. She raised us two siblings, and she had to swallow all the pain."

"Perhaps you can't remember some things, but I do remember them clearly. Back then, Mother took us siblings to ask for help from Grandpa and Grandma. Fearing they'd implicate us in Father's affairs, they wouldn't even open the door, throwing us a hundred taels of silver and sending us away. In the freezing snow, one of your footwear was lost, so Mother took off hers and put it on you, while she walked barefoot in the snow."

"You are weak and a real burden on your journey of exile. Everyone traveling with you has advised your mother to leave you behind, but she watches over you more than anyone else."

"You always say that mother is strong and likes to control your life, but brother..." Cheng Yuehua's eyes trembled, and the corners of her mouth pursed stubbornly, "She is a widow. If she wasn't strong... she would have been wiped out by this world long ago!"

Cheng Yunzhang sighed barely perceptible.

The originally calm heart began to ripple again.

The wind blows and the heart tree sways.

"She's had a hard life, so stop being angry with your mother. You've never worried about her studies, so why is marriage so stressful for her?" Cheng Yuehua grabbed Cheng Yunzhang's hand and smiled again, "Or... do you have a girl you like?"

Cheng Yunzhang didn't say anything. The sunlight cast a golden edge on his profile, as if only his body was left here.

"I used to like her." Cheng Yunzhang smiled and patted Cheng Yuehua's hand. There was no bitterness in his smile, only calmness. "But she never looked me in the eye."

If Wen Wan cared about him at all, she would not have hidden it from him from beginning to end, and she would not have killed the two brothers Yuan Qi and Yuan Jing so easily.

Even when beating a dog, one still has to consider the owner's face. Yuan Qi and Yuan Jing are his closest relatives, but Wen Wan seems to have never cared about it.

This passionate and brilliant emotion, like fireworks, did not die in the confrontation with the whole world as he had expected, but died in his wishful thinking.

This passionate love affair had nothing to do with her.

All the unspoken emotions vanished like smoke. Cheng Yuehua's expression froze slightly, then she naturally replied, "Which family's daughter has such high standards that she doesn't even like my younger brother?"

Cheng Yunzhang did not answer but asked, "Mother, do you like the girl from the Sun family?"

That being the case...

"The girl from the Sun family looks fine." Cheng Yunzhang gently closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and swallowed all the resentment surging in his heart.

Such is fate.

He accepted his fate.

"Since mother likes it, then let her be."

----------------------

At this moment, in the dense forest at the junction of Bozhou and Bingzhou.

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, the mountains are hidden, and wolves are howling everywhere.

Wei Zheng and a dozen of his subordinates were hiding in a dilapidated village house.

They tracked Liu Guizhou all the way to the border of Bozhou. As he headed further and further into remote areas, his clear objective caused Wei Zheng, who had originally intended to arrest Liu Guizhou, to change his mind.

They temporarily rested in this village house, and Meng Yuanjie went to the nearby pigeon house to retrieve the military report sent by Zhao Heng from Bozhou.

Sparks were jumping "crackling", Meng Yuanjie approached Wei Zheng and presented the military report.

Wei Zheng wiped the sword with a white handkerchief. As he couldn't free his hands, he asked Meng Yuanjie to read the military report.

Meng Yuanjie spoke in a low voice, reading word by word towards the firelight.

Zhao Heng only learned to read and write lately, and his handwriting...is barely recognizable. His reading of the military newspaper is even more straightforward, with no literary talent at all.

—I have found a skilled wet nurse to serve at the Wen residence. She has become my hidden source. I now know the Wen family's situation inside out.

——Manager Wen ordered Master Tu to beat An Baonian every day. An Baonian left Bozhou City in tears and sent someone to the Yuan family before leaving.

—— Shopkeeper Wen bribed a Taoist priest to hang around An Baonian every day, persuading him that his son An Zhongrong's fortune was bad and would hinder his wealth and career. An Baonian wanted to go home and send his son away.

—Shopkeeper Wen came to the Governor's Office to borrow ten glass cups. I have already asked her to write a receipt, please rest assured!
Shopkeeper Wen opened a restaurant called "Red Mansion," which was packed daily with distinguished guests and became a household name. The new drama "True and False Daughter" is also worth watching. I've already watched it three times; it's even better than "The Legend of Jiao Jiao"! Highly recommended! This story begins with the return of the real daughter to the Shangshu Mansion...

When Meng Yuanjie read this, he pursed his lips and frowned.

He read ten lines at a glance, then his throat rolled, his hand shook, and he turned the page quickly and decisively.

Hou Ji came over, "Hey, this kid...he wrote a whole page about the plot of 'True or False Daughter'!"

The damn military newspaper only has two pages!

A page of paper is also a storybook!
He had said long ago that Zhao Heng was not very smart!
The Marquis left him behind the base camp to make orders, but he just kept paying attention to Miss Wen all day long!
As expected, Wei Zheng's brows furrowed slightly, and his hand paused as he wiped the blade of his sword. He glanced over slowly, his tone even more sinister, "With so many people and things going on in Bozhou City, is he living on Wen Wan's roof?"